"We knew River's spirit was in Heaven, but we couldn't bear to watch his tiny, earthly body be pumped full of all the medicines for 3 or more days while they searched," Amber Smith posted on Instagram.
Instead, doctors removed his organs, finding out which could be possibly donated after the procedure was finished and the organs were weighed and measured, USA Today reported.
Amber Smith spent the night laying with River before they took him to the operating room to harvest his organs and see if he could match them to someone who needed them to survive.
"The next morning family and staffed lined the hall for the "walk of honor." We told them River liked to go fast, so to honor him, they pushed him down that hall faster than they had ever pushed anyone," Amber Smith wrote.
Amber Smith said the family had been informed that a 49-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man each received organs from River. She did not specify what was donated.
"I pray these 2 recipients to live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv," she wrote.
Granger Smith and Amber Smith have two other children, a 7-year-old daughter London and a 5-year-old son Lincoln, USA Today reported.
A funeral for River was on June 11, People magazine reported.
For more information on organ donation, visit organdonor.gov.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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